A literature review and database of how the primary KIT/PDGFRA variant of a gastrointestinal stromal tumour predicts for sensitivity to imatinib.

It is well recognized that the primary KIT or PDGFRA variant of a gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) can predict sensitivity to imatinib. However, these data are currently spread across a wide range of publications and have not been collated as one reference. A broad-ranging literature search was therefore performed to assemble such a database which should help optimize imatinib-based management of GIST patients henceforth.

Professional identity in nursing: A mixed method research study.

Professional identity is developed through a self-understanding as a nurse along with experience in clinical practice and understanding of their role. Personal and professional factors can influence its development. A recent integrative literature review synthesised factors that influenced registered nurse's perceptions of their professional identity into three categories of the self, the role and the context of nursing practice.

A cohort analysis of men with a family history of BRCA1/2 and Lynch mutations for prostate cancer.

Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is a major health concern for men worldwide, with an estimated lifetime risk of ~14 %. A recent comprehensive analysis of mutational processes revealed ageing and mismatch repair as the only altered processes in PC. We wish to test if a cohort of men with inherited risk of mismatch repair defect through BRCA1/2 or Lynch Syndrome mutations represents a target population for prostate cancer testing.

Clinical imprinting: the impact of early clinical learning on career long professional development in nursing.

The literature recognises a relationship between clinical experience and a successful undergraduate experience in nursing; however what constitutes an effective approach remains the subject of debate, particularly in relation to first year of learning. There is evidence from a biological standpoint that early experience impacts on the behavioural development of animals, described by Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989) as 'imprinting'. The concept of imprinting has resonance for nursing.

Professional identity in nursing: are we there yet?

Nursing in the United Kingdom (UK) has been part of higher education for more than a decade and is now moving towards graduate status as a profession. Increasingly, through adherence to good practice guidelines and professional body regulation, the profession is incrementally involving communities of reference to help shape current and future identity. The desire to articulate the impact of nursing practice underscores the new undergraduate programmes and propels professional preparation beyond an existence at the fuzzy fringes of medicine towards a unique and fully fledged contemporary identity.

'Show us you know us': using the Senses Framework to support the professional development of undergraduate nursing students.

As students, fledgling nurses need to feel they belong to a community of academics, peers and mentors who value their contribution to learning and knowledge. Creating a sense of community allows students to experience academic and practice integration at the beginning of their professional journey, recognising that positive learning experiences at an early stage of professional maturation can shape lifelong attitudes to learning and discovery. The Senses Framework has been used to develop supportive working in relation to older adults; it also has resonance for the development of undergraduate nurses.

The duality of professional practice in nursing: academics for the 21st century.

Although pre-registration nursing in the United Kingdom (UK) is moving towards a graduate exit, the vocational/professional debate is still live and continues to be played out in both popular and professional literature. This study considers the nature of contemporary academic communities and the challenge of duality in professional nursing life. More than a decade after the move into higher education (HE) however the role of the academic is still controversial, with much of the debate focussed on the nature of clinical credibility.

Developing professional identity in nursing academics: the role of communities of practice.

This paper analyses the current standing of nursing within the wider United Kingdom (UK) higher education (HE) environment and considers the development of academic identity within the sector, introducing a technology mediated approach to professional learning and development. A community of practice (CoP) is a way of learning based on collaboration among peers. Individuals come together virtually or physically, with a common purpose, defined by knowledge rather than task [Wenger, E.

Promotion of a community culture in nursing research.

This article focuses on local practice-based research and development. It uses examples from both nursing practice and education to explore some factors that prevent, promote and influence the establishment of a research culture in clinical nursing. The article presents potential approaches for successful practitioner-led and clinical/academic research initiatives, explored through practice development and communities of practice.

'Constructing communities for learning in nursing'.

Working in communities is increasingly a feature of UK (United Kingdom) higher education. Within the last decade communities of practice (CoPs) have migrated from organisational development departments and evolved to become tools for practice based learning in educational settings. More recently, in nursing, the literature reports that CoPs have the potential to blend the skills of both academics and clinicians to transform and create new knowledge that is both scholarly and applicable to practice.

Greater than the sum of its parts: transition into the first year of undergraduate nursing.

In 2006 the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Community Health, Glasgow Caledonian University, introduced an action research initiative: The Enhance Project. Originally designed to provide academic support for first year undergraduate nursing students, this project has evolved to encompass a second spiral of activity, investigating how prepared students are, both professionally and socially for year one of an undergraduate nursing programme, with particular reference to the first clinical placement. Initial findings indicate that, while the majority of students appear to understand their role as nursing students, their understanding of what is expected of in the first placement is less clear.

Building on Wenger: communities of practice in nursing.

Communities of practice (CoPS) provide a potentially useful practice based framework for constructing work based collaborative learning and promoting engagement with local and professional groups and communities. In nursing, we have, increasingly, to manage and deploy new and existing knowledge, although CoPs are currently not widely used to do this. This paper debates the framework created by Wenger and reviews the role of the CoP as an innovative way for educators and practitioners to collaborate to develop and manage new knowledge and emerging practice.